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National Cask Ale Week starts TOMORROW September 18^th, and runs until September 28th. The eagle eyed amongst you might spot that this is actually an 11 day long “week”, but when it’s in celebration of our beloved beer, who are we to argue?!

Cask beer is far and away the majority of our production here at Abbeydale – the heart and soul of our existence – and we’re pretty darn proud of it too. We think we’re one of the only breweries in the UK who release a dedicated cask special each and every week – and although they’re predominately pale and hoppy, that’s not all we can do! There’s always plenty of variety available and something to suit every palate. We also don’t believe cask beer should be put in a “box” – it’s not just for traditional styles – which is why everything from our lower ABV pales all the way through to hugely hopped DIPAs and NEIPAs and big, bold stouts does and always will make its way into cask here at Abbeydale HQ.

Our new beer for Cask Ale Week this year is from our Restoration series, our own take on traditional styles, and this time we’ve created a delicious Yorkshire Bitter (4.1%). Eminently pintable, it’s a well-balanced, easy drinking burnished copper beer with a delicately floral flavour set alongside hints of pine, followed up with a pleasing bitterness in the finish. UK grown Fuggles hops meet US Centennial – not the most classic of combinations perhaps, but hey, putting our own twist on things is just how we roll!

One of the aims of Cask Ale Week is to encourage more people to try real ale, and as autumn draws in we reckon there’s nothing finer than spending an evening in a cosy pub with a couple of pints. We’d love to hear about your favourite places to do just that!

You can find out more at caskaleweek.co.uk including details of upcoming events in your area.

Cheers!

HUGE NEWS! We’re absolutely delighted to share that we’ve been named as finalists in the Best Drinks Producer category of the prestigious BBC Food & Farming Awards 2025!

Congratulations to our fellow drinks producers Nyetimber, who make English sparkling wine, and the Yorkshire Wolds Apple Juice Co who are also up for the award, and to all those shortlisted across the other categories too – you can view the full shortlist here. What an honour to be flying the flag for the beer industry on a national scale!

The three finalists in each category were chosen from thousands of nominations by a judging panel of experts, headed up by renowned chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. The judges were looking for businesses who do something special and stand out from the crowd, and we’re so happy that our move to employee ownership has helped us do just that – along with, of course, our huge range of beers living up to the high bar set by the judges!

As for the next steps, all the finalists will be visited by the judges to learn more about us and record a special edition of the BBC Radio 4 Food Programme! We’ll be sure to let you know when our episode is out so you can all listen in.

We will find out the results at the awards ceremony in Bristol on the 18^th of November, where the winners of each category will be announced. Whatever the result, it’s a huge honour to have been recognised as part of such an amazing shortlist… and we can’t wait to put the wellies away and get the gladrags out for a change! Wish us luck!

Cheers!

Team Abbeydale

Growing our range of experimental beers and pushing the boundaries of what we can create in a whole new way, we’d love to introduce you to our dankest beer yet. Hello, Cultivator!  

We are very used to finding innumerable ways to say the words ‘citrussy’, ‘fruity’ and ‘tropical’, but trying to skirt around the words ‘weed’ or ‘skunky’ is definitely a new one to us.

Cultivator is made with innovative products botanically derived from cultivar specific hops and terpenes. Complex and intensely aromatic, Brewgas Blackberry Kush and Pineapple Express hold aromas of sweet candy alongside propagating a potent dank character and planting flavour notes of sticky resin on the palate. We’ve chosen Simcoe and Galaxy hops as the supporting acts to these remarkable products to further boost the tropical, piney flavour found within this heady, tasty brew.

So just how did this extraordinary beer come about? Over to our brewer Christie, the brains behind this brew:

We were at the annual SIBA BeerX conference in Liverpool this year chatting to our suppliers and peers at the Charles Faram hop stand. Alongside rubbing some of their beautiful hops, there was a new supplier to us who I got chatting with, they were from a company called Abstrax Hops who supply products called Brewgas. These are (get ready for this it’s a lot of words) cultivar specific terpene profile extracts from plants from the cannabaceae family which aren’t humulus lupulus (hops). In less words, we have used weed oil extracts to add flavour to this beer. Cannabis and hops are in the same family and share a large proportion of genetic content so there’s a nice crossover here, and in the same way that we are picky about what hop varieties we use for our beers we’ve been able to do exactly that with these terpenes.

It’s completely CBD and THC free so there’s no funny business, nothing illicit and we can assure you it’s not a gimmick, it’s a revelation. The brewery did have a certain ….distinctive… aroma when we brewed it though….

We originally trialled some Brewgas samples in a number of our beers and we came to the conclusion that they worked best in Heathen – the dank aromas from the terpenes really harmonise nicely with a robust caramelly malt backbone and resonant bitterness. So for the base of Cultivator we have gone old school West Coast style with caramalt and a touch of biscuit malt, then to complement the Brewgas products we chose the relatively high bitterness and piney joy of Simcoe at every stage, including Simcoe Hyperboost, another state of the art hop derived product from our suppliers Yakima Chief Hops.

We’ve been producing our experimental hop range for a while now and I truly think this is a great culmination of all the work we have put in thus far. We genuinely don’t think we’ve ever tasted a beer quite like this one and we’re really proud of it.

I hope you enjoy the beer more than I enjoyed trying to persuade everyone at the brewery that this was a good idea.

Cheers,

Christie

*Cultivator is available now in cask, keg and can (including from our online shop). We’d love to hear what you think to it – and if you’d like to find out more about these groundbreaking products, including the LoudFactor of the variants we’ve used in this beer (yes, really), head to the AbstraxHops website.

This September, 26 venues and two breweries (spoiler alert: one of them is us!) are teaming up for the 10^th Sheffield Half Pint Marathon. A month-long celebration of beer, art and independent businesses, it’s doubled in size for the 10^th anniversary, with more venues than ever before to explore, and a fresh new look.

Organised by our friends at True North Brew Co, they’re brewing the cask beer for the occasion and we’re supplying the keg! Our beer is called Foam Roll, a 3.8% session pale ale with a juicy character and a robust bitter finish that punches above its weight. And True North have created P.E.D, a tasty 3.4% pale on cask.

To get involved, simply pop into any of the participating venues any time in September, where you can pick up your Half Pint Passport. The full list of venues can be found here – we’re pleased to say our very own Employee Owned pub, the Rising Sun in Fulwood, is one of them! Each time you visit one of the venues over the course of the month, and order one of the official Half Pint Marathon beers, you’ll get a stamp on your map. 13 venue stamps is a half marathon, or visit all 26 to complete the full challenge! Once you’ve hit your chosen target, you can claim your limited edition 2025 print. The venues and breweries alike all donate to local charity Sheffield Mind, and there are collection tins in each one too if you can help top up a donation!

Your map also has lots of other bonus ways to get involved too – there’s challenges to complete, photos to snap and exciting things to look along the way. We can’t wait to find out how you take on the challenge – of course, you don’t need to involve running, but we’re sure there’s some of you out there that will choose to combine the two! Who can find the best route between all the venues?!

Be sure to follow the official Half Pint Marathon Instagram page for updates too!

We’re incredibly excited to share the news that we’ve been shortlisted in TWO categories at this year’s Brewers Choice Awards!

Firstly, we’re absolutely delighted to be up for Brewery of the Year, a huge honour as we head closer towards marking our first full year of employee ownership. We know we’ve got something special and unique here, reflected not just across our wonderful team but also in company growth, and to see that recognised is as humbling as it is rewarding.

And our treasured Black IPA, Black Mass, has been shortlisted for Beer of the Year too! Timeless, tasty, arguably unfashionable yet oozing its own sense of cool, it’s been part of our history since we first began and is a beer we’re incredibly proud of. Fun fact: our CAMRA brewery liaison officer Dave tells us it’s the only entry in the entirety of the Good Beer Guide which has its ABV specified to two decimal places (hey, that 6.66% is important!). Both categories look to be incredibly hotly contested with some absolutely fantastic breweries and beers in the mix – you can view the full shortlist here.

This is the third time we’ve had the privilege of being shortlisted for the Brewers Choice Awards, and we’re also really excited to find out who will be taking over our Jim’s title as Brewer of the Year, having brought home the prestigious glass tankard in 2024.

Organised by the team behind industry magazine The Brewers Journal, this year’s submissions were judged by a wealth of talent that included Lotte Peplow, Europe’s craft beer ambassador for the Brewers Association, Brew Resourceful founder Chris Lewington, Stuart Anderson (founder of one of London’s premier beer retailers Ghost Whale) and Alex Greig, the owner of the fantastic Fuggles Beer Cafe in Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge. Tim Sheahan, editor of The Brewers Journal, chaired the judging session. The 2025 Brewers Choice Awards will be presented at a ceremony in London on the evening of 30th September. Wish us luck!

Cheers!

Team Abbeydale

Due to the growth of our business, we are on the lookout for a full time Brewery Operative to join our team!

The role is very hands-on and quite varied. The successful candidate will support our brewing and packaging processes to keep our busy brewery running smoothly from the ground up.

Key tasks will involve:

• Cask washing
• Packaging beer – cask, keg, can and bottle
• Warehouse work – regularly handling weights of 25kg+
• Preparing orders for dispatch
• Loading and unloading deliveries of raw materials and finished products – as such, a clean driving license and forklift truck license would be of benefit
• Utilising our in-house systems to accurately record all completed tasks
• Maintaining impeccable levels of cleanliness and hygiene across the brewery, including following health and safety and food safety procedures at all times

Please note this is not a brewing role, however you will be regularly working alongside our production team. Previous experience in food production/manufacturing would be an advantage, but is not essential as full training will be provided.

We are an employee owned company, so working with us means you will have a real say in how the business is run and play a meaningful part in its future. We are flexible and supportive employers who take great pride in training and developing our team. We recently won the Employer of the Year category at the 2025 SIBA Business Awards too!

Usual working hours are Monday to Friday (either 8am-4pm, or 9am-5pm), and evening and weekend work may also be offered at times.

Salary £25k / annum plus staff discount across the business (including at our pub, The Rising Sun), future potential for profit share and the opportunity to join a growing and progressive company which holds community, quality and above all its people at heart.  

If it sounds like you could be the reliable, diligent and proactive team player we are looking for, please send a CV with references and covering letter to [email protected] with the subject “Brewery Operative application” by the closing date of Sunday 31^st August.

You are welcome to email us or call 0114 2812712 if you have any queries.

Cheers!

Team Abbeydale

The latest in our acclaimed Travel Poster inspired series of collaboration beers is out now… and you might just recognise our visitor to the brewhouse! We’ve recently welcomed Loch Lomond Brewery to create something delicious with us, and their Lead Brewer, Scott Murray, made the long journey to represent Scotland right here in Sheffield. If you’re thinking Scott looks familiar, that’s because he was once part of our brewteam too – so it was wonderful to invite him back and spend the day catching up as well as making a beer together.

Introducing Live, Laugh, Loch Lomond! A 4.2% single hopped pale made in the spirit of friendship, bursting with good vibes and just a touch of whimsy. A light biscuity base meets uniquely flavourful Krush hops to create a fruity little number with a luscious impact. A tropical aroma translates on the palate to bright and breezy notes of mango and pineapple, with a thirst-quenching finish. Available in cask only, celebrating not just the spirit of collaboration and community but our wonderful pubs too.

This brew follows on from our Dan making the journey up to bonnie Scotland a couple of months ago, where the “away” leg of our collaboration resulted in the release of Rubus Black – a Cranachan Porter weighing in at 6%. This one can’t be bought from us directly (although members of our subscription box club will have found one in this month’s box!) but you can pick cans up from Loch Lomond’s online shop here. Rich and decadent, delicious oaty and infused with the tart sweetness of real Scottish raspberries. Some of this tasty treat is still quietly resting in an ex-Oloroso sherry barrel too… be sure to follow Loch Lomond to find out when this will be making an appearance!

Cheers!

Team Abbeydale

Updated 27th August – this vacancy is now closed to new applicants. We will be reviewing all applications over the coming week and aim to contact those successful in being invited to interview by 3rd September.

We are looking to recruit an enthusiastic, conscientious and proactive Retail & E-Commerce Manager to join our Sales and Marketing team, and become a Co-Owner of our Employee Ownership Trust. 

The role will involve:

• Managing our e-commerce offering, and our onsite shop, fulfilling and packaging all incoming orders
• Managing our monthly subscription box club
• Maintaining the shop area of the website – managing content, imagery and layout
• Managing our merchandise offering
• Handling customer queries – phone, email and in person
• Marketing our retail offering including taking high quality product shots
• Making an active contribution to social media and content creation
• Working with our busy office team across sales and marketing
• For the right candidate, the role could involve elements of graphic design, additional content creation such as video content, and/or events management. Part of being an independent company means it’s important to us to give all our staff the opportunity to contribute their own skills, so let us know what gets you excited!

Experience in a similar role is essential (within the beer industry would be beneficial), although full training on our systems will be provided.

Knowledge of beer styles and enthusiasm to work with craft beer would be of significant benefit.

Our ideal candidate is someone with energy, drive and a flair for communications, who can work with our team to grow this side of the business. A commitment to providing top notch levels of customer service and embodying the values of our business is imperative.

We are an employee owned company, so working with us means you will have a real say in how the business is run and play a meaningful part in its future. We are flexible and supportive employers who take great pride in training and developing our team. We recently won the Employer of the Year category at the 2025 SIBA Business Awards too!

We’re looking for someone who’s available Monday-Friday for a minimum of 25 hours – the role can expand from this up to 37.5 for the right candidate who can bring further skills, as outlined in the role requirements above. Evening and weekend work may also be requested at times. We offer flexibility in return and are advocates of promoting a healthy work life balance. We are happy to work around school hours or any carer commitments you may have. Due to the nature of the role, you will be required to work from the brewery itself (S8 0YX).

Salary £28-£30k/annum for a full time role (pro-rata for part time), dependent on experience. We also offer staff discount across the business (including at our pub, The Rising Sun), future potential for profit share, and the opportunity to join a growing and progressive company which holds community, quality and above all its people at heart.

If it sounds like you could be who we are looking for, please send a CV, covering letter and two references to [email protected] by the closing date of Tuesday 26^th August.

You are welcome to email us or call 0114 2812712 if you have any queries.

Cheers!

Team Abbeydale

Beer festival season is well and truly in full swing, and next weekend we’ve got beer at no less than 5 fantastic events around the North of England!

First up is CAMRA’s Chorlton Beer & Cider Festival, which kicks off on Thursday 3^rd July and is held in the gorgeous surroundings of St Clement’s Church. Absolutely loads of beers to choose from including a wide selection of our own.

The absolutely stunning historic Merchant Adventurer’s Hall in the centre of York is playing host to a charity beer festival, with a fantastic list of cask and keg beer curated by our friends at Brew York, on Friday 4^th and Saturday 5^th July. A truly unique setting to enjoy a few pints! Over 70 beers will be available, including both a cask and keg from ourselves. Tickets are available here (at the time of writing, the Saturday afternoon session was already sold out, so don’t hang around if you’re keen to attend!).

And also on Saturday 5^th July, our pop up bar is going on tour to Roosters Brewery near Harrogate, where you’ll find our Robin and Sam slinging pints at Suds With Buds. It’s our first time pouring here and we absolutely can’t wait! The brewery line up looks absolutely sensational, and we’ll have four beers available including our beloved Moonshine, and our collaboration with Roosters themselves, Heading into Harrogate, on the bar. Plus there’s a great selection of street food on offer and some fab live music throughout the day too. Find out more and get your tickets here.

This one isn’t a festival, but a fantastic event nonetheless – community pub, The Fox & Goose in Hebden Bridge, is celebrating the UN International Year of Co-Operatives, and has chosen to showcase our Employee Owned brewery as a part of it! From 12-5pm on Sunday 6th July they’re hosting an afternoon of informal talks, music and pizza which includes a tap takeover featuring a whopping ten of our beers!

Finally, for something a little bit different (and ok this one isn’t quite in what we might call “the North”!), Moonshine and Discover Ossett are the beers of choice at The Gate to Southwell folk and acoustic music festival, a volunteer run event in beautiful rural Nottinghamshire.

Hope to see you at one of the above – please do tag us in your festival snaps to let us know where you’ve found our beers! You can find us on Instagram @abbeydalebeers.

Team Abbeydale

Next up in our new series of natural print inspired cask only releases (you can read more about the development of this range here), we’d like to introduce you to Linden, a 4.1% pale ale single hopped with Most™ – our first time using this new and intriguing hop variety.

Most™ hops (pronounced “moss-t”) were developed in the UK by our hop suppliers Charles Faram, in collaboration with farmers in the Czech Republic, which is where the hops themselves are actually grown – the first variety from the Charles Faram Development Program to be grown outside of the UK. The word “Most” is Czech for bridge, so the name represents this ethos of working together and symbolises friendship and community in the aftermath of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union. Most™ is a sister variety of UK grown varieties Jester® and Olicana® and so shares some of their delectable characteristics.

Charles Faram describe this exciting new variety as a dual purpose hop, which can be used for aroma or bittering. We used it in whole cone form in our hopback, which we feel allows it to shine most brightly. Versatile and clean with a unique flavour profile, Farams add that Most™ has a more powerful aroma than what you might usually expect from a Czech-grown hop, described as boasting notes of strawberry and bubblegum alongside some tropical citrus and fresh tones.

Whilst the versatility of Most™ means it can be used across a wide range of beer styles, as it’s our first time using it we wanted to do what we think we do best – a classic, 4.1% pale ale which uses these gorgeous hops in isolation. The result is a fresh, grassy and eminently drinkable beer – aromatic and citrussy with abundant red fruit flavours, hints of sherbet and a gentle bitterness in the finish.

We reckon it’s a “Most” have on the bar!